On Sunday, October 28th, I visited three ice cream shops in Lake Placid and ordered a scoop of vanilla ice cream at each shop. To determine the best ice cream in Lake Placid, I graded them on a scale of 1-10 in four categories: flavor, creaminess, portion size, and expensiveness (cost-to-satisfaction ratio).

1. Ben & Jerry’s

Ben & Jerry’s is a large ice cream chain that specializes in hard ice cream, but also serves milkshakes, smoothies, baked goods, and more. On a busy weekend in town, there are often many people in the store. Located on Main Street, it is a 1.4-mile walk from Northwood.

Flavor: 8/10

Creaminess: 9/10

Portion Size: 4/10

Expensiveness: 4/10 ($4)

Average Score: 6.25/10

Although the portion size is rather small for $4, the soft and creamy ice cream of Ben & Jerry’s has a flavor that stands out with each bite.

2. Emma’s

Emma’s is a local ice cream shop also located on Main Street. In the summer and on many weekends, there is sometimes a line out the door. The store specializes in soft ice cream but serves Hershey’s hard ice cream as well. It is known for having the “best milkshakes in town.” It is a 1.6-mile walk from Northwood.

Flavor: 6/10

Creaminess 6.5/10

Portion Size 6.5/10

Expensiveness 7/10 ($3)

Average Score: 6.5/10

Note: I asked for a scoop of hard ice cream in a dish at Emma’s but was informed that there was no hard vanilla ice cream left. To stay true to one flavor, I purchased a small soft vanilla ice cream in a dish instead. The ice cream was very rich. The portion size wasn’t too large, but it was larger than the one at Ben & Jerry’s.

3. Stewart’s

Stewart’s is a well-established chain of convenience stores located primarily in the Adirondacks and North Country. Stewart’s also serves their own brand of dairy products, including hard ice cream in a variety of flavors. Stewart’s has two locations in Lake Placid: one on Main Street right across from the arena and another on Saranac Avenue. The Main Street location is a 1.4-mile walk from Northwood.

Flavor: 6/10

Creaminess: 5/10

Portion Size: 9/10

Expensiveness: 9/10 ($2.50)

Average Score: 7.25/10

Stewart’s ice cream is the best in town. I grew up in Lake Placid, and I have been to the shop many times. I was interested to see how the ice cream would hold up compared to other stores and was not disappointed. Stewart’s was not only was the cheapest option but also had the largest portion. The flavor and creaminess were not quite as good as the other two stores, but the positives of the ice cream prevailed. If I could go to anywhere in town to get ice cream, it would be Stewart’s.

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The Beantown Fall Classic is “a team entry event featuring elite teams from North America at the 18U, 16U, 15U and 14U levels.” Both the Prep and Junior team played in the U18 division of the tournament. The tournament was held at the New England Sports Center in Marlboro, MA, which has a total of ten rinks.

The Junior Team won the tournament (Photo: @NWS_hockey).

The Prep Team didn’t have their best weekend, finishing with a record of 1-2-1 versus tough competition. Interestingly, a win against Boston Bulldogs U18 would’ve forced the Prep Team into a tournament matchup against Northwood’s Junior Team. It likely would have been the first meeting between the two teams outside of The Northwood Invitational Tournament in the school’s history. The Prep team fell to the Bulldogs 6-3.

The Junior Team had a much better weekend going 8-0 and winning the tournament. In the first six games of the tournament, only 4 goals were allowed by the Junior Team including two shutouts. During these games, they managed to score 17 goals of their own.

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My name is Wyatt Friedlander. I was born in Lithia Springs, GA and I moved to Lake Placid when I was three years old. I’ve been at Northwood since freshman year. My grandfather was the Headmaster at Northwood for 30 years. My mom and aunt both attended Northwood, which played a big role in me coming here. I’ve lived right across the street from campus for most of my life. One of my favorite things about Northwood is the community, just being able to hang out with my friends all the time is something I really like. I spent four years at North Country School before I came to Northwood. I left after eighth grade so I could be a freshman here.

I’m a hockey goalie. Last hockey season, I played around 40 games because one of the goalies quit and another left early in the school year. I ended up being the only goalie on my team. It was a challenge at times, but it definitely made me better. It made me more confident with my play. Freshman year I weighed less than a hundred pounds. I had a big growth spurt the summer of sophomore year and I’m now 6’0” and 165 pounds. The academics at Northwood have made me work harder and developed me into a more well-rounded student.

I run a business called Northwood Chips, I sell bags of chips for a dollar a bag and also gum for two dollars a pack. It’s a good way to make money.

Before every hockey game, I light a candle. I’ve written motivational quotes on the side of my candle and I read each one before every game and mentally prepare myself before putting on my suit and going to the rink.

Seniors Chelsea Smith and Sarah Coombs, who are members of the Headmaster’s Council, recently proposed to fix this WiFi issue. “The proposal outlines three key reasons why the student WiFi should stay on: to complete school work, to contact family in different time zones, especially for international students, and to gain more independence,” said Smith. “Our goal is to keep the WiFi on until midnight,” added Coombs.

However, some students think that late night WiFi access will have negative impacts on the academic lives of students. Rintaro Akasaka ‘20 said, “I think that a lot of people want the WiFi on at night to play games [rather than to do homework]. These people need to learn to be more responsible. If they are late on assignments or are not getting enough sleep because of gaming, they should be held accountable for their actions.”

On the other hand, many boarding students support the idea of having WiFi on at night. Grey Pfefferkorn ‘19 said, “I have times when I work on my homework or college essay after 10:30. In these cases, I have to use my personal hotspot on my phone to complete work.” He added, “I understand that the school is worried that the kids might play video games all night, but I don’t think that all students should suffer from that,” he said.

Dean of Academic Affairs, Dr. Laura Finnerty Paul has a conservative opinion on the matter. Dr. LFP commented, “The younger students with full-on freedom, I don’t think they could handle it, yet. It’s a legacy policy. I don’t know who developed it, but it’s been in place for a long time. The intention behind it is to get students to go to sleep. Students have found a way around it [by using multiple personal hotspots]. I don’t know how the school could realistically manage access for older students only. I would be open to it becoming one of the privileges for students who are performing well academically or working diligently.”

Update (October 29, 2018): six days after the publication of this article, Mr. Broderick announced at school meeting that student WiFi will remain on until midnight. He said the change is temporary and will be reversed if students are found to use the extra WiFi time irresponsibly.

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(October 5-6, 2018) The Northwood Prep Team stayed home for two games against Rice Prep. In the first game, Rice struck first, but 15 seconds later John Biechler ‘19 found the back of the net to tie the game. A goal by Aleksei Rutkovski ‘19 late in the first period gave Northwood the lead. Rice came out of the gates hot to start the second and was able to score only seconds into the period to tie the game. Sutton Allard ‘19 responded quickly with a goal and Northwood once again took the lead. From there Northwood didn’t look back, with Rutkovski scoring again and Blaise Clarry ‘20 also adding a goal. Northwood came out on top by a score of 5-2, with Wyatt Friedlander ‘19 and Johann Tremblay Kau ‘22 sharing time in net. [Read more…]

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(September 29-30) The Prep Hockey Team traveled to Governors Academy in Byfield, MA for two games against the Middlesex Bears. In the first game, Northwood came out on top by a score 8-2. Wyatt Friedlander ‘19 got his first win of the season in net. Goals were scored by Scott Herman ‘20, Zach Ellsworth ‘20. Lukas Klemm ‘22 scored 3 goals for his first Northwood hat trick.

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I was born and raised in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. I grew up skiing, kayaking, biking, and just being outside all the time. I got to live in Germany when I was in eighth grade. My mom grew up in Germany, so it was cool to be able to live with her side of the family instead of my dad’s like we do here in the U.S. It was a good experience to learn German at a school where I didn’t get graded or have homework. I came to Northwood as a sophomore last year. My dad got a job as the new ski coach, and I wanted to play elite level hockey, so everything worked out perfectly. I play forward in hockey. I rock climb and telemark ski as well. One of my favorite parts about Northwood is that I’m able to spend time outside climbing and skiing, while I can also play hockey at a high level. A lot of other schools wouldn’t allow me to do that. My goal for the future is to play Division 1 hockey or even Division 3 if that’s more realistic. When I’m older, I want to get a job outside. I want to live in a van, travel the world, and see where life takes me.

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My name is Noah Pittman. I have a cat and some fish. I used to go to a school in Saranac Lake before Northwood, but I never really fit in. Northwood gave me a second chance. Sometimes it’s hard not being a hockey player or a soccer player here because you see everyone else succeed athletically all the time, but I try to stick to what I can do and what makes me feel good. I came here mainly for robotics. Mr. Martin is a great robotics teacher. The vex and advanced programs he has are great. This year I’m only in the vex program because I doubled up on math, which is another thing I could have never done at my old school. I went to the first robotics competitions at Northwood thinking that I had a good robot and I’d get first place, but I got 10th. I was happy to make it to states, but I never really won, which was sort of a disappointment to me. But it gave me time to think and learn about teamwork.

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Students are enjoying the new snack bar, which operates in the school kitchen from 9:00-11:00 AM and 2:00-5:00 PM. Students can also order food from 5:30- 6:30 to be picked up at 7:30 pm, just before study hall. [Read more…]